BINAY – “DESTAB” PLOT TO JUSTIFY DEPLOYMENT OF POLICE, MILITARY IN METRO MANILA BEFORE SONA

UNO PRESS RELEASE

JUNE 30 2009

REF: JOEY SALGADO

BINAY – “DESTAB” PLOT TO JUSTIFY DEPLOYMENT OF POLICE, MILITARY IN METRO MANILA BEFORE SONA

Makati Mayor and United Opposition (UNO) president Jejomar C. Binay today warned that the Arroyo administration could use the bombing at the Office of the Ombudsman and the presence of bombs in Quezon City to increase police and military presence in Metro Manila prior to her State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“I believe it is no coincidence that these incidents were reported at the same time that we in the opposition finalized our plans to hold protest actions leading to Mrs. Arroyo’s SONA,” he said.

The opposition leader also said heightened police and military presence could even be a prelude to the declaration of a state of emergency, a scenario that would favor the Arroyo administration.

“With these incidents, the Arroyo administration has a convenient excuse to deploy more policemen and soldiers in Metro Manila. No doubt these deployments are not too subtle signals to the opposition that Mrs. Arroyo has the muscle to impose her will on the population,” he said.

Binay said the bombing incidents occurred just as the political opposition, civil society, people’s organizations and Church groups announced the holding of protest actions leading to a major rally on July 27, when Mrs. Arroyo delivers her SONA.

Binay wondered why Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap was quick to conclude that the incidents could be part of a destabilization plot.

“Is Secretary Yap aware of any information that made him conclude that there is a destabilization attempt? If he does, then he should share this information with the proper investigating authorities,” he said.

Binay cautioned the administration and the police against immediately blaming the opposition, as it had done so in the past.

“If there is indeed a destabilization plot, then we should ask who stands to benefit the most from such a scenario. It is those who are out to perpetuate themselves in power at all cost,” he said.

Recent moves of the administration have, in fact, tended to “destabilize” the country, he said.

“Aren’t we already in a state of confusion and uncertainty, all because of Mrs. Arroyo’s desire to cling to power beyond 2010?” he added.

The opposition had said Mrs. Arroyo is pushing to amend the Constitution so she may stay in power beyond 2010. Before adjournment, the House of Representatives forced a vote on a resolution calling for the convening of Congress into a Constituent Assembly for the purpose of amending the Constitution.

Police said a bomb was discovered at the Department of Agriculture (DA) a day after a bomb exploded at the Ombudsman. A mysterious package was also found in front of a condominium building along Katipunan Avenue . Mrs. Arroyo’s family had owned a unit in the building, which is just across the Ateneo de Manila campus.

Students have been staging regular noise barrages against Con-Ass along Katipunan